Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:11:30 +0000 (GMT)
From: Steve Rose
Subject: Martin Roberts Investigates - 10
DISCLAIMER:
This is a story. None of the characters in the story
exist and the events that take place are purely
imaginary. This is a detective story with sexual
overtones. I hope that you like this as a piece of
writing.
WARNING:
Do not read this story if you are in any way offended
by acts of a homosexual nature.
Do not read this if you are under the legal age for
accessing adult sites.
Always indulge in safe sex.
MARTIN ROBERTS INVESTIGATES
Chapter 10
After his Inspector had left for home, Martin had sat
alone in his office waiting for the return of Bob
Matthews from South Wales. To pass the time the
Superintendent decided that he would tidy up a few
things. First he wrote a memo to the Commander, his
immediate superior, outlining the recent developments
in the case and explaining the importance of the
photograph that they had acquired. Martin also
suggested in his memo that he would want to resist a
press statement at this stage but that he hoped to
have firmer news by the end of the week. When he had
completed the memo, Martin next turned his attention
to a large file on his desk. This was the one that had
been sent over by the Home Office pathologist and
contained his detailed report on the autopsy evidence
of the first six victims.
Martin could tell that, as expected, the Home Office
pathologist had been extremely thorough and his report
was enormously detailed. There was, fortunately for
Martin, a summary sheet, which informed him that the
original autopsy reports had been accurate and that
the Home Office pathologist could find nothing more
that was new to add. However, the report was able to
provide more comparative detail because this
pathologist had been able to review all the cases. The
specialist doctor confirmed that each of the victims
had been asphyxiated. The killer had almost certainly
used some kind of plastic bag pulled tightly over his
victim's head. The pathologist commented that it was
well known that there were people, who sometimes used
this method in order to heighten sexual stimulation.
However, he added, the absence of genitalia and semen
on the body or at the scene of the dumping of the
bodies suggested that this had not been true in these
cases. Finally, the pathologist confirmed the view
already taken locally that the victims had been killed
at some other location and then moved almost certainly
in a vehicle of some kind, to where they were
eventually found.
As a result of his comparative study, the Home Office
pathologist was also able to report that a similar
knife had been used to remove the victim's genitals in
each case. The pathologist could not say for certain
whether it was the exact same knife that was used in
each case but merely that one of a similar kind had
been used on each occasion. The knife was of the sort
that was commonly used by chefs and butchers, however,
it was also, unfortunately, a brand that was widely
used in many households. Indeed, Martin himself
recognised the brand name of knife as being the same
as the one that he and Tom used in their own kitchen.
Martin inwardly groaned at the thought that this
information had signally failed to narrow down the
search at all. As far as he was concerned there were
likely to be thousands of similar knife sets in use
throughout the UK.
The Superintendent then looked at the detailed
photographs and other information used to confirm the
findings about the knife. Placed neatly at the end of
the report was a further faxed message from the
pathologist on the latest victim in Bath along with a
report on the autopsy and photographs evidence from
Darren Evans, whose remains were sadly no longer
available for direct examination. This extra
information again confirmed that the same pattern of
killing had been used in both these cases. The first
victim, Darren Evans, had not had his genitals removed
but a crude and unsuccessful attempt had been made to
do so. In the case of Timothy Owen, the last victim, a
knife similar to the one used in previous more recent
cases had been successfully used. The pathologist
ended his report by arguing that, taking all the
information together, he could not resist the
conclusion that the same person was responsible for
all the crimes, including the murder, all those years
ago, of Darren Evans.
After an hour, there was still no sign of Bob Matthews
and the new photograph so Martin decided to contact
them to see where they were. When he discovered that
it would be another hour or so before they arrived
back at Scotland Yard, the Superintendent decided to
abandon his plan to wait for them. His decision was
reinforced first by a call from Tom asking where he
was and when he would be home and then by one from
Mark who seemed somewhat surprised that his boss was
still in the office. Over the radio link the
Superintendent told Bob not to bother coming back to
Scotland Yard but to go straight home. After that he
should then let PC Rickwood drive on home as well. The
Superintendent concluded his conversation by saying
that he would see the Inspector first thing the
following morning and examine the photograph then.
Martin as usual looked in on the night staff and then
made his weary way home. All his hopes were pinned on
the photograph that would be waiting for him in the
morning. He was sure it contained the clue to unlock
the mystery, but he would have to wait until the next
day to find out.
The rush hour was over which meant that Martin made
good time back to his apartment. As he let himself in,
he was surprised to hear the sound of voices coming
from the main living room. Tom, who had heard the door
opening, emerged from the room and walked down the
hallway to greet Martin. Tom gave Martin a warm and
loving kiss on the lips. Then he said, with a broad
smile across his face,
"Hi, Marty, it's so good to see you, I've missed you!!
We've got a visitor, you'll probably remember him even
though we haven't seen him some time. I didn't bump
into him until the current case, which we have just
won, by the way! The opposition capitulated this
afternoon, much to the annoyance of my friendly judge,
but even he had to accept that they could not
proceed."
Martin was pleased to hear some good news for once but
was still mystified as to the identity of the visitor.
The matter was cleared up as soon as Martin entered
the room. Sitting in one of the chairs and trying hard
to rise to greet him was a very overweight man, whom
Martin immediately recognised as being Freddy
Eversley. Martin had met Freddy at about the same time
that he and Tom had first moved in together. Some of
Tom's friends sometimes claimed that Martin had
replaced Freddy as Tom's lover, a claim that Tom had
always strenuously denied. Tom had been friendly with
Freddy at University and had remained so after they
both qualified as lawyers. Although there was his
admission of a brief affair at University Tom had
always strongly asserted that it did not last for very
long and that it certainly did not continue after the
older of the two, Freddy, had graduated.
Martin strode across the room and shook Freddy's hand.
Freddy had just managed to get out of the chair as
Martin got to him.
"It's really good to see you again, Freddy", Martin
said, thinking to himself with a large degree of
satisfaction that, although he was several years older
than Freddy, he was in better physical condition than
the man he had just greeted. When they had last met,
Freddy had been quite a dapper man, but over the years
he had put on a lot of weight. Martin thought that
this was no doubt a result of too many good meals out
and the life of luxury that he was able to enjoy as a
result of his considerable fortune. Freddy owned a
large country house not too far outside London and,
from time to time, he and Tom had received invitations
to attend weekend parties there. However, as these
parties were reputed to be little more than an excuse
for a huge orgy of eating, drinking and having
promiscuous gay sex, to date neither Martin nor Tom
had been tempted to attend.
Tom looked on as the two men shook hands and then
said,
"I hope you don't mind, Martin, but I've invited
Freddy to stay for dinner and sleep here overnight. I
thought that, as we'll be having a bit of a
celebration as a result of our famous victory, it
would not be a good idea for Freddy to be driving home
tonight."
Martin noted that both Freddy and Tom were already
clutching large glasses of wine and by the looks of
things not their first of the evening. Martin
signified his agreement to Tom as he poured himself an
equally large glass of the wine. He then went over and
sat down on the large sofa next to his lover. Martin
smiled at Tom and then turned to Freddy and asked,
"So, how did you get involved in this case?"
"Ah", laughed Freddy, "Good old Martin, always the
investigator! Well, actually, it involved one of my
business interests, although I also had a legal
interest as well. That's it really. But I tell you it
was a famous victory today, mainly thanks to Tom's
skill and despite the worst efforts of that old
fascist of a judge! I loved his face when he had no
option other than to find for us and the look he gave
Tommy here was priceless, absolutely priceless."
Martin winced inwardly as he knew how much his partner
hated being referred to as `Tommy'. Tom who had
decided he'd like to change the subject as he wanted
to hear about Martin's day, which he already knew had
not been as successful as his own, so he said,
"Let's eat and, over dinner, perhaps Martin can tell
us the latest news on his investigation and whether he
had had any luck finding the famous photograph?"
Over the meal, Martin gave the pair a summary of what
had happened during the day and how he expected better
results when he saw the photograph the following day.
Tom and Freddy listened intently as the Superintendent
talked them through the case. His narrative was
interspersed with a liberal distribution of more wine
and by several questions from the other two. In
response to one such query from Tom, Martin confirmed
that, like all the other's, the last victim, Timothy
Owen, had been circumcised. Bob Matthews had reported
this earlier in the day after checking with the
victim's doctor. When he had completed his account,
Martin looked tired and, to Tom, his voice betrayed
his frustration at the lack of progress. Tom was about
to say something of a comforting nature when Freddy
suddenly intervened,
"You know, Martin, this really is a very bad business.
I would love to try to assist you in some way, but I'm
not sure how that could be. The names you have
mentioned -- confidentially of course -- are not
unfamiliar to me. As you know, because I invite you
often enough - even though you never come! -- I have
house parties several times a year. Well all four of
your suspects, I regret to say, have been guests of
mine on at least one occasion. Joe Smith is a rather
rough lorry driver, but some of my people like their
partners to be of that sort now and again, so he has
been several times. I must say that he seems harmless
enough to my untrained eye. Tends to go for the
younger element too and they go for him, though I can
never see the attraction myself! Then there's Peter
Collins. He seems to be a reasonable sort of fellow,
but a bit uptight. He's only attended once though so
it's hard to tell. His secret partner, Ed Wilson,
brought him along. They tended to keep themselves to
themselves and, hardly ever joined in the group
activities in the sauna and swimming pool. But just
content enough to join in if and when they felt like
it. I'm not sure why I would continue to invite them,
except that Ed Wilson works for a company that I have
a large shareholding in and they want to keep him. But
if you want my amateur view neither of them seemed all
that violent or angry. The other chap, Graeme Adams, I
have to say I regard as a bit of a sycophant, always
sucking up to the rich and powerful and sucking them
off as well I shouldn't wonder. A real creep, happy to
sleep his way to the top and use his sexual
proclivities to stay there! Sorry about that, but I
can't say that I like the man but he does provide good
music and he's popular with my other guests. Again
didn't strike me as the murdering kind unless it was
someone in the way of his progress to the top! I don't
suppose my views count for much but I thought I'd tell
you anyway. The thought that one of those four might
be a killer is just too horrible. But remember, if
there's anything -- anything at all - I can do to help,
please let me know. I want the bastard who's
committing these murders caught almost as much as you
do!"
Martin thanked Freddy for his comments and for his
offer of help and said that, if he did think of any
way in which he thought that Freddy could help, then
of he would not hesitate to get in touch. At this
point Tom rather pointedly looked at the clock and
then at Martin and said,
"Well it's getting late and you have an early start
tomorrow from what you said earlier, Martin, so I
suggest we all get to bed."
"Good idea" said Freddy as he lumbered to his feet and
thanked his hosts profusely for the fine meal, the
excellent wines and the stimulating conversation. Then
Freddy slowly ambled towards the spare bedroom where
he was to sleep. Tom and Martin followed Freddy down
the corridor to their own bedroom a few minutes later.
Once the two lovers were in bed Tom looked lovingly at
Martin and said,
"I know you're tired but I'd like you to make love to
me tonight, right now, in fact! You've always known
that there was never anything between Freddy and me
after he left the university. However tonight brought
something else home to me. I realised, not for the
first time and, I hope, not for the last, how lucky I
am to have you!! You are much better looking than he
is, much fitter and, from my memory of the couple of
nights I spent with Freddy, a much better lover! Not
only that, but your dick is much nicer to play with
than his was, even though he was cut like you are. So,
if you have the energy I'd like you to make love to me
so that we can seal our bond of love together!"
Tom had already moved his hand towards Martin's groin
and had found the object of his desire, which was
hardening to his touch as he spoke. Martin's response
was not by words, but by actions. He took hold of Tom
and pulled his younger lover on top of him, feeling
his partner's engorged cock squash against his
stomach. Tom moved away slightly so that he could sit
up and then he pushed Martin down flat onto the bed.
>From this position Tom was easily able to manoeuvre
himself so that he could sit on Martin's prick.
Pausing only to adjust his older partner's rampant
tool, Tom expertly lowered himself onto it. Martin
gasped with pleasure as he felt the full length of the
dick disappear inside the warm welcoming hole until
only his balls remained outside. Tom began to ride up
and down on his lover's erect tool and Martin reached
up and took hold of Tom's equally hard penis. Martin
wanked Tom's cock as the younger man rode up and down
on the prick that was buried deep inside his hole.
Martin continued to cry out with pleasure as he felt
the inevitable effects of the attention he was
receiving build up inside him. Soon it all became too
much and Martin could hold out no longer. The older
man began to gasp for breath as his orgasm approached.
At the same time, Martin increased the speed of his
wanking action on his lover's cock. Between their
groans and moans the pair called out encouragingly to
each other. Neither of the two seemed to either know
or care whether the noise that they were making
penetrated to other parts of the apartment. It
certainly did not worry them that Freddy, sleeping
alone across the corridor in their spare room, might
hear them. Tom shouted out loudly as he felt his
lover's cock swell inside him,
"Oh, yes!! Fuck me Marty!! I love you Marty!! I want
to feel you cum inside me!! Wank my cock harder, let's
try to shoot together!!"
Martin, gasping for breath, responded equally
forcefully,
"I love you too, Tom!! Ride my dick and make me cum!!
I love the feel of your tight arse and I also love the
hardness of your cock as I wank it!! Don't stop now,
Tom!! I .. love ... yooooouuu!!!!"
Martin's prick exploded deep inside Tom and, at the
very same moment, creamy spunk sprayed from the
younger man's cock and splattered over Martin's chest,
neck and face. Martin stuck out his tongue and began
to lick up some of the spunk and then gathered the
rest on his fingers and shared the creamy jizz with
his partner. After his orgasm, Tom had slumped forward
on top of Martin and the two lay together for some
while as they recovered from their lovemaking. Even
after they had rolled apart, the couple continued to
caress and touch each other for some while as they lay
close together. Eventually the need for sleep led them
to separate. However, by the time unconsciousness
finally overwhelmed them they were once again cuddled
close together.
Despite his tiredness of the night before and the
exertions of the lovemaking he had indulged in, Martin
woke early the next morning. He made coffee for
himself, Tom and their guest and took the cups back to
the bedrooms. Martin knocked on the door of Freddy's
bedroom and, on hearing a kind of snorting noise,
entered the room and gave their guest his drink.
Standing close to the bed, Martin enquired, politely,
"I hope that you found everything OK last night,
towels, extra blankets stuff like that. Did you also
sleep alright, Freddy?"
Ever the perfect guest, Freddy replied unconvincingly,
"Like a top, my dear! Out like a light as soon as my
head hit the pillow."
Freddy, had laid in the unfamiliar bed for quite some
time unable to get to sleep and then, just when he had
begun to drift off, the noise of the lovemaking from
the main bedroom had kept him awake for sometime after
that, but it would have been indelicate to mention it.
Martin noted the insincerity in Freddy's response but,
feeling he had nothing to apologise for, chose to
ignore it,
"I hope you don't mind coffee at this hour but I have
to leave early today so I wanted to pop in and say
`goodbye' before I left. Tom won't be up for a while
yet, so stay where you are for as long as you like. I
expect you and he will want to go on celebrating your
victory for a little longer before you leave."
"Thanks, Martin. I will stay in bed for a while if you
don't mind. Two things before you go. Firstly, I hope
that some of our success of yesterday rubs off on you
today and that the photograph proves to be the
breakthrough you hope and expect it to be. Secondly,
just to remind you, if there is ever anything I can do
to help in any way, however large or small, please
don't hesitate to get in touch."
"Thanks, Freddy. You are very kind. At the moment I
can't think of anything but I'll bear your offer in
mind. Either way, I'll let you know how things go."
With that Martin got up and left the room. He returned
to his own room and placed a cup of the still hot
coffee on the bedside table next to Tom. The younger
man was still rather sleepy and barely acknowledged
the coffee. Martin went off to have a shower and
returned to find Tom still drowsy but awake, sitting
up and sipping his coffee. Martin kissed his lover on
the lips and then said quietly,
"I've seen Freddy, he says he's OK but I think he
heard us last night! I told him to stay in bed for a
while and that you and he would probably go on
celebrating a bit longer."
"Thanks, Marty. I do love you!! I'll see that he's
gone by the time you get home tonight. Hopefully by
then you might have some good news of your own to
celebrate."
Tom leaned up and kissed his partner and then Martin
pulled himself away, afraid that if he did not his
wish for an early start would not be fulfilled. In the
kitchen, Martin grabbed some cereal and ate some toast
and then returned to say a last `goodbye' to Tom.
Kissing him for a third time, Martin whispered a
farewell and quietly left the apartment and started
his journey to Scotland Yard.
At the Underground Station, the Superintendent bought
a newspaper from the kiosk. At this time in the
morning, the trains were half empty so the journey
proved to be uneventful. Martin read the newspaper on
the underground and found that he was again featured
in them. Much of the report was highly critical of the
Superintendent's handling of the murder investigation
to date as well its failure to produce results. Part
of Martin wished that he had agreed to issue a press
statement the day before in which he could have played
up the discovery of the photograph and the possible
linkage to the earlier murder of Darren Evans, but in
his heart of hearts the Superintendent knew that to
have done so would, in all likelihood, have made
matters worse. Although it was true that all the
suspects now knew that the investigators had a copy of
the photograph, it was also possible that the killer
would not know whether they had made the linkage to
South Wales, even though they probably would do soon.
Nevertheless, the Superintendent was still wary of
going public for fear of prompting more desperate
actions on the part of the killer. Furthermore, the
lead might prove to be a false one and the linkage
might not exist and the photograph might produce
nothing further, although Martin rather doubted this.
If and when the team finally cracked the secrets of
the photograph, then the Superintendent would have a
press statement that would put his critics firmly in
their place. At that point also the net would be
closing around the killer and an arrest imminent.
When he arrived at Scotland Yard, Martin dodged the
bevy of pressmen waiting for him at the main entrance
and managed to get to his office without being
spotted. The Superintendent was the first of the
senior members of the team to arrive and so he waited,
slightly impatiently, for the others to arrive. As he
did so, Martin glanced at the reports from the night
shift and the surveillance teams but none of these
produced anything startling or original. All the
suspects, even Graeme Adams, had behaved impeccably
after their interviews at Scotland Yard. None had left
home or gone out and about at all. After about ten
minutes, Bob Matthews, fresh from his trip to Wales,
arrived with the long awaited better copy of the
photograph. A few minutes later, Mark followed Bob
into the office. The young Inspector looked rather
less than rested after an apparently difficult night
with the new baby.
As soon as they had settled in, the three police
officers crowded round the desk to look at the copy of
the photograph that Bob Matthews had retrieved from
the archives in Wales. When they saw it they quickly
realised that their high expectations for this piece
of evidence had been somewhat misplaced. The problem
was that the photograph was extremely small and the
quality was not significantly better than the earlier
one. The figures were clearer but the facial features
were still hardly recognisable. The look on Martin's
face probably summed up the general disappointment.
However, Mark came up with a couple of suggestions
that all agreed with. The Inspector proposed that
first of all they ask for enlargements of the
photographs to be made and that each of them should
get a copy and then study it carefully in their own
offices. Mark's second suggestion was that they ask
the computer experts to enhance all or parts of the
photograph for them to look at. Martin agreed with
Mark's suggestions and asked him and Bob to arrange
for the enlargements to be made and the computer
experts to be contacted. He indicated that he wanted
this done as quickly as possible. The Superintendent
also suggested that, when the enlarged photographs
arrive the three officers should spend no more than an
hour studying it. After that time, they should all
meet back in his office to share ideas and thoughts.
While they were waiting, they could each get on with
other matters. The Superintendent said that he would
go to see the Commander and brief him on the latest
developments.
By the time the Superintendent had completed a rather
sticky interview with the Commander in which he had
explained in great detail what the latest situation
was, Martin hoped that the photographic enlargements
would be available. As he left the Commander's office
to return to his own, Martin was only too well aware
that he was probably being given a last throw of the
dice. If nothing emerged from the examination of the
photograph, or if it proved to be a false lead, then a
fresh approach under different leadership would almost
certainly have to be attempted, especially in light of
the hostile press coverage the investigation was
receiving. As luck would have it, the enlargements
arrived just as the Superintendent got back to his
office and he immediately distributed copies to the
other two officers. The Superintendent stressed to the
two Inspectors that the Commander was putting on the
pressure. Although the other two did not need to have
the consequences of failure spelt out to them, Martin
asked that they should all agree to meet back in his
office in forty-five minutes time. Bob and Mark
readily agreed and disappeared to their offices,
leaving Martin to study his copy of the enlargement.
Martin wished that he had thought to bring from home
the powerful lighted magnifier he used with his coin
collection because the quality of the enlargement was
not all that much better than the smaller version.
Although the people were larger, their details were
still hazy. Martin could see about a dozen young
members of the swimming club standing in swimming
costumes and smiling at the camera. The Superintendent
could readily identify Darren Evans and knew from what
had already been discovered that the boy next to him
was Gareth Thomas. Standing to each side of the
swimmers were a couple of older, fully dressed men,
obviously coaches, also smiling. However Martin was
rather intrigued by the fact that the face of the one
at the end furthest away from the camera was extremely
blurred. As before, Martin knew instinctively that the
photograph held the key to solving the mystery and
unmasking the killer but even the enlargement was not
clear enough to enable him to see immediately what it
was.
Bang on time, the two Inspectors arrived at Martin's
office and, after knocking on the door, went into the
Superintendent's office. All three were wearing grim
expressions, which indicated that none of them had
found anything positive from their study of the
photograph. As usual, the two Inspectors waited fro
Martin to lead the discussion,
"I think we will have to wait until we can have the
faces enhanced before we can get any further. What do
you two think?"
Mark and Bob indicated their agreement with this
proposal and Bob said,
"I was on to the computer people again just before I
left my office to come here, sir. They say they will
be with us very soon, probably in about ten minutes."
"Good, thanks, Bob, let's hope they are that quick!
Now before they come what do you think we ought to
concentrate on?"
Mark spoke for the first time,
"I think we need to enhance both Darren and this
friend Gareth first, just to confirm that it is them
in the photo."
Bob agreed and then the Superintendent said that he'd
like to have the faces of the two coaches enhanced as
well, adding that he'd also like to get their names if
that was at all possible. Bob said that he would take
care of that right away and Martin thanked him. As the
Inspector left the room, Mark looked quizzically at
his superior officer and Martin explained his thinking
to him,
"Well, Mark. If you think about it most of the victims
are relatively young except for Paul Laycock and the
last one, Timothy Owen. Also these were the only two
that we can not directly connect to some contact at a
disco or club. I rather doubt that Laycock was ever a
swimming coach. From what we know about him, it would
appear that he lived all his life in or around
Birmingham. So, I suspect, his death was at best
unplanned and might just have happened because he was
in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the
last victim, Owen, has a mysterious past that we have
yet to unravel. What if he was somehow connected to
the swimming club? It might explain his death, which,
because of his age, also seems to have been something
of an anomaly."
"I see your drift, sir, but it's a bit of a long shot,
isn't it?" responded Mark.
If he had been pressed, Martin probably would have
been forced to agree but the conversation was
interrupted by the arrival of a small, youthful man in
civilian clothes. The young man knocked on the door
and, after receiving an acknowledgement from Martin,
walked in.
"Afternoon, Superintendent. I'm Alan Phillips. I'm a
civilian member of the Metropolitan Police Force,
working in the IT services section. I believe you need
help to enhance a photograph?"
"Yes, we do. Thanks for coming. Shall I show you what
we want done?"
Alan Phillips gave an affirmative answer and seated
himself at the computer terminal and switched it on.
Once established at the desk and sitting in front of
the computer screen, Alan asked if a copy of the
photograph could be scanned to a disk. While they
waited for this to be done, the IT man inserted a
software CD and loaded it onto the computer, telling
Martin and Mark that the software was extremely
effective and they would have good clear pictures very
soon. A disk bearing the scanned image of the photo
soon arrived and it, too, was loaded into the
computer. The Superintendent and Mark watched closely
as the scanned image of the original photograph
appeared, as if by magic, in the program window.
Martin then directed Alan to the areas that he wished
to have enhanced and received a reassuring smile from
the technician, which indicated that he understood
what was wanted, and that it would cause no problems
at all.
The first face to be enhanced was that of Darren Evans
and it was instantly recognisable. Then, for some
reason, the technician decided to switch to the least
easy of the subjects and began to work on the
partially obscured coach. As he was doing this, Bob
returned from his office and joined them. Mark brought
his fellow Inspector up to speed and they all watched
as the features of the coach became gradually clearer.
Mark looked increasingly surprised as the face came
into clearer focus and he recognised it as a younger
version of the last victim from Bath and suddenly
exclaimed,
"My God, sir, you were right! That's Timothy Owen!!"
Bob interjected at this point,
"Actually it's Owen Timothy Griffiths. I got the name
from that retired Inspector, David Williams.
Apparently, Griffiths was a swimming coach at the club
where Darren and Gareth were members. He left under
something of a cloud. He was accused of sexual assault
although nothing was ever proved. Even so he was
forced to resign from the post as swimming club coach
and he'd certainly left Cardiff before Darren
disappeared. I think the Cardiff boys tried to find
him after Darren's body was found but he had appeared
completely. Where he went to, nobody knew but I guess
that by the time he got to Bath he'd changed his name.
Not very original I suppose but good enough if he
lived quietly in a small village and kept out of the
limelight."
Martin then intervened,
"Thanks for that information, Bob. Well we've got a
connection between the last victim and the swimming
club, which suggests there is a tie-in there, but I
don't expect any of the other murder victims, apart
from Darren, are on this photograph. Let's have a look
at his friend. Can you enhance that one next, please?"
Alan, the technical wizard, moved his cursor onto the
face of Gareth Thomas. The three police officers
watched as the face got clearer. As it did so Martin
and Mark looked at each other in amazement. Mark was
the first to speak,
"You know who that reminds me of, sir?"
"Yes, Mark I do. Another case of someone changing
their name and their identity, do you think?"
Bob realised what Martin was saying and intervened,
"Sorry, sir, but if you're saying that you think
Gareth Thomas changed his name and is the murderer,
it's not possible. You see, I had a similar thought
yesterday on the way to get the photograph. I thought
that the killer might be Gareth so I we went to see
David Williams on the way back. Sorry about the detour
and being late, by the way, sir. Anyway, David told me
that Gareth died earlier this year. So he can't be the
murderer."
Mark and Martin were forced to concede that this
initial theory could not be sustained. However, the
young Inspector persisted,
"I still think that it looks uncannily like...
A loud knocking on the door rather rudely interrupted
Mark's comments. All three men turned to see who it
was. Standing there, slightly flushed and breathless,
was PC Mike Rickwood. Martin looked at the young
Constable and said rather sharply,
"This had better be good, Mike. You must see that we
are busy."
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir but I do think this is very
significant, sir, otherwise I wouldn't have
interrupted you. I think I've found out something that
could be important. I've been looking into Gareth
Thomas' life this morning. There's a number of points
I've discovered. First of all I found out that
Gareth`s mother had a twin sister. Angela and Mary
Stephens were born and grew up in London but Mary met
and married her husband Jeffrey and went to live in
South Wales. Gareth was their only child and I suppose
his life style was a great disappointment to his
parents. But that's not the most interesting thing. A
few years before Mary got married Angela Stephens also
had a son, but she was not married until after he was
born. Shortly after her wedding, she got pregnant
again but she and the baby died in childbirth. The son
continued to live with his stepfather and eventually
took his name. I've written it all down here, sir.
I'll leave it for you as you're busy."
"No, Mike. Thank you, that's excellent work and very
useful. It helps to explain the similarity between
Gareth and his cousin. It may also give us a motive
for the killings."
"Do you want us to go and arrest him straight away,
sir?" Mark asked the Superintendent.
"Not just yet, Mark. We need to do some more digging
so that we can make the charges stick, just in case he
doesn't confess. We also need to develop more evidence
as to motive, so why don't you start thinking and
digging about that before we charge in and arrest him
and then find he gets off on a technicality. I don't
want any mistakes on this one. Our man is under
constant surveillance and that means we can arrest him
at any time if it looks like any trouble is brewing. I
think I might arrange a surprise party for our killer.
I'd like to expose him in front of his fellow suspects
and I believe I have a means of doing it, so I'm going
to get onto it straight away."
Martin then indicated that he wanted to be left alone
and, having been warned not to talk to anyone else
about the latest discovery, the three officers left
the room. The Superintendent knew that he would have
to clear his plan with the Commander but the news that
there was an imminent arrest made that part of his
plan easy. Next, Martin telephoned home and Tom
answered the telephone.
"I don't suppose by any chance Freddy's still with you
is he?"
Tom answered that he was not.
"Damn! I was hoping to catch him. Do you have a number
where I could reach him? He said he'd be happy to help
with the case and I've just thought of something he
could do."
Tom asked Martin to wait and then gave his lover the
number of Freddy's mobile phone. Tom knew better than
to ask why Martin needed to speak to Freddy so
urgently but could tell from the excited tone in his
partner's voice that it was important and could mean
that the murder case was close to being solved. Martin
thanked Tom, told him he loved him and hung up.
Immediately after that the Superintendent picked up
the phone again and dialled the number for Freddy's
mobile and, after a brief pause, the booming voice
answered,
"Freddy Eversley! Who's calling?"
"Hello, Freddy. It's Martin. You know you said that I
should call you if there is anything you could do to
help? Well, there is something."
"Anything, my dear, anything. Just ask."
Martin explained that what he wanted was for Freddy to
organise a small weekend party at his country mansion
for the coming weekend. Martin left the choice of
evening to Freddy but made it clear that he only
wanted the four suspects to be invited, along with
himself and Tom.
"Oh how terrible Hercules Poirot of you", commented
Freddy after Martin had explained his plan, "I'll get
onto it right away and let you know what day it is to
be. I hope all us innocents will be safe and that
there will be large numbers of burly policemen to
protect us and carry off the guilty, unless, of
course, you expect him to do the honourable thing,
with a revolver in the library! Am I allowed to know
who is the guilty party."
"No, Freddy. Best for you not to know. I don't want
the killer being alerted. Like the others you'll just
have to wait and see. Let me know when all is
arranged."
"Will do, my dear, will do."
The line went dead. Martin set in motion his end of
the operation although the necessary decision over
when to deploy the police to ensure that there was no
escape for the murderer could not be finalised until
the date of Freddy's party was determined. It was
getting late and Martin called Bob, Mark and Mike
Rickwood back to his office. The Superintendent
explained that although they now knew the identity of
the murderer, they had yet to establish a motive and,
that until they had found one, the name had to remain
completely confidential. In answer to a question from
Mark, Martin said that he was satisfied that he had
done all that he could to ensure that there were no
further killings. Martin then thanked them for their
hard work and told them to go home. The following day
they would try to piece together the sequence of
events and the motive for the killings. As usual
having decided that he could return home, Martin
looked in on the night shift and reminded the
surveillance team that it was vital that they kept in
contact with all the suspects. This done, Martin
headed towards the underground station and made his
way home. He was returning in a far happier mood than
when he had left that morning. This time, when he
arrived home, he too, would have something to
celebrate along with his partner, Tom.
TO BE CONTINUED...
If you liked this part of the story let me know
cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk